1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a production apparatus and a production method of a wired member using an electrophotographic method such as laser printing.
2. Related Art
Research and development of electronic devices using organic materials have been vigorously conducted in recent years. Accompanying such a development, studies on performing integration and wiring by using a rotary press or a printer in accordance with a printing system have been progressing. According to such a method utilizing a printing system, the conditions of vacuum and high temperature and extremely expensive apparatuses, which are utilized for producing a current semiconductor integrated circuit, become unnecessary, so that large quantities of electronic devices can be inexpensively produced. Presently, the following have been proposed as specific methods thereof: a direct drawing method by an ink jet printer, a screen printing method which produces a plate and performs printing with it, and a line patterning method which uses a laser printer.
In particular, the method using a printer is expected to allow inexpensive production of an electronic device since a plate for screen printing or an optical mask for producing an ordinary semiconductor circuit is unnecessary. Further, this method is appropriate not only for the case of producing the same device in large amounts, but also for the case of producing one specially ordered circuit element since a circuit designed by an ordinary personal computer (PC) can be easily printed on demand.
Printing using a printer does not necessitate a high-temperature process as in production of a semiconductor circuit, and thus can produce a circuit on a substrate having flexibility such as a plastic substrate, and thus has a new applicability to electronic devices such as a flexible display and electronic paper.
Among the methods using a printer, a line patterning method using a laser printer is, as shown in FIG. 11 for example, composed mainly of a step of printing a negative mask (a toner mask) 106 onto a circuit substrate 102 by a toner (FIG. 11(A)), a step of applying a conductive material 108 (FIG. 11(B)), and a step of removing the toner mask 106 (FIG. 11(C)). This method can output a circuit pattern on the circuit substrate (substrate to be wired) 102 in the same manner as in outputting it from a PC to an ordinary printer. In this case, as described above, an optical mask and a printing mask are unnecessary, so that any circuit can be designed inexpensively. Then, a conductive paste of organic material or inorganic material is applied to the toner mask printed onto the substrate. Such a method allows producing a wiring substrate as well as a semiconductor device. This method is a promising technique in the field of so-called printable electronics.
On the other hand, as parts or products having an electronic circuit or wiring are miniaturized more and more, it is necessary that the wiring and the like be disposed three-dimensionally to miniaturize it as a whole. From such a viewpoint, techniques for wiring on a curved surface by which wiring and the like can be efficiently disposed are very important.
In a conventional line patterning method such as shown in FIG. 11, toner particles existing in a non-image area (namely, an area in which wiring is to be formed) often causes a decrease in application properties of a conductive material, and high resistance or disconnection of a conduction path part or a wiring part.